Taxpayers Lose Over $120
Million Annually
on Federal Public Lands Grazing

A
new report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concludes that
the federal government spends at least $144 million each year managing
private livestock grazing operations on publicly owned land, but collects
only $21 million in grazing feesfor a net loss of at least $123
million per year.

Several agencies, including the Natural Resources Conservation Service
and the Environmental Protection Agency, which spend money mitigating
for grazing damage such as non-point source water pollution, did not provide
estimates of their grazing related costs to the GAO. The report also does
not address the environmental costs of livestock grazing on public lands.